Home/Practical Shooting/Mounted vs. Dismounted Movement

Mounted vs. Dismounted Movement

MovementLevel 3 — Advanced

Prerequisites

Short MovesShooting on the Move

What It Is

The decision and execution of whether to keep the gun mounted at eye level or break it down (lower it and use your arms for running power) during movement between shooting positions. Short distances keep the gun up; longer distances benefit from breaking the gun down and using your arms to run faster, then remounting 2-3 steps before the next shooting position. This is a movement efficiency skill that directly impacts both foot speed and readiness to shoot on arrival.

Correct Execution

  • Short distance (1-3 steps): Gun stays mounted at eye level throughout. Arms do not contribute to movement. Eyes track toward the next target. This is a short move -- the gun never leaves the workspace.
  • Medium distance (4-6 steps): Gun stays roughly mounted but may drift slightly below eye level. Support hand stays on the gun. Re-establish full mount 2-3 steps before arrival at the next shooting position.
  • Long distance (7+ steps): Break the gun down. Take the support hand off the gun and use both arms for running power. "30% of running is in your arms" -- pinning the gun to your face while sprinting costs significant foot speed. Remount the gun 2-3 steps before the next shooting position.
  • Gun off the eye-line if not actively shooting -- after about 1 second of having the gun on your eye-line without shooting, you will start staring at the sight, which degrades target acquisition on arrival
  • Support hand never leaves for 2-step moves; take support hand off for 5+ step moves
  • Form the intent to shoot early -- remount the gun and be looking for targets 2-3 steps before arrival, not after
  • When remounting, the sight should be floating at eye level as you look for the target; it sucks into the spot you are looking at

Progression Levels

Diagnostic Tree

Coaching Cues

  • "30% of running is in your arms" -- On long runs, break the gun down and use your arms for power. (Stoeger, "Ben Stoeger on movement basics," 2024)
  • "Gun off the eye-line if you're not shooting" -- After ~1 second, you will stare at the sight. (Stoeger, "Ben Stoeger on movement basics," 2024)
  • "Gun up 3 steps out. Form the intent to shoot before you arrive." -- The remount window. (Stoeger, "Ben Stoeger on movement basics," 2024)
  • "Support hand never leaves for 2 steps; take it off for 5+ steps" -- Simple rule of thumb for mounted vs. dismounted.
  • "Legs do the moving, arms hold the gun" -- On mounted moves, these are two separate jobs for two separate body systems.

Common Errors

  1. Always mounted: Keeping the gun at eye level on 10+ yard runs. -> Feels like "being ready" but costs foot speed. -> Break the gun down for long runs. Arms are for running.
  2. Always dismounted: Dropping the gun on short 2-step moves. -> Habit or energy conservation. -> Short moves stay mounted. The time to re-raise costs more than keeping it up.
  3. Late remount: Bringing the gun up after arriving instead of 2-3 steps before. -> Not planning the remount. -> Practice the 2-3 step remount window. Form intent to shoot early.
  4. Early remount: Mounting the gun 5-6 steps before arrival. -> Anxiety about being ready. -> This costs foot speed on the remaining steps and may cause sight staring. 2-3 steps is sufficient.
  5. Sight staring during mounted runs: Gun on eye-line for >1 second without shooting. -> Not aware of the phenomenon. -> Take the gun off eye-line during non-shooting movement segments.

Related Skills

  • short-moves: Short moves always keep the gun mounted -- this skill governs the transition point
  • shooting-on-move: Mounted movement enables shooting on the move; dismounted movement does not
  • position-entry: The remount timing determines how quickly you can shoot on arrival
  • position-exit: The dismount timing determines how quickly you accelerate out of a position

Edges

🔑 Hidden Causal Lever

30% of Running Is In Your Arms

movementmounted-dismounted →

Keeping the gun pinned to your face during a long sprint costs approximately 30% of your running power because the arms cannot swing naturally. Most shooters keep the gun mounted during all movement because it feels "ready," but on runs of 5+ steps this readiness comes at a massive foot speed penalty. Breaking the gun down and remounting 2-3 steps before arrival produces faster overall times because the foot speed gain far exceeds the remount cost.

What most people do
Keep the gun at eye level during all movement. They arrive at the next position 0.5-1.0s slower than they could have, but the gun is "ready." They also develop sight staring during the run.
What the best do
Break the gun down for runs of 5+ steps. Arms pump naturally. Foot speed approaches actual sprinting speed. Remount 2-3 steps before arrival -- not sooner, not later.
Why it's an edge: On a 10-yard sprint, the speed difference between mounted and dismounted is significant. In a match with 10+ long runs, cumulative savings are 2-4 seconds.
How to exploit: Time a 10-yard sprint with the gun mounted. Time the same sprint dismounted. Compare. Then practice the 2-3 step remount window until the gun is consistently ready on arrival.
Stoeger, "Ben Stoeger on movement basics," 2024 -- "30% of running is in your arms"

Sources

  • Ben Stoeger, "Ben Stoeger on movement basics" (2024) -- Gun up early, form intent to shoot, mounted vs. dismounted principles, sight staring during runs, arms for running power
  • Ben Stoeger, Skills and Drills Reloaded (2018) -- Gun at eye level during short moves, mounted gun principle
  • Ben Stoeger, "Jumping Into Transitions with Matt" (2025) -- Sight staring diagnostic (demeanor shift / head tilt)
  • Ben Stoeger, "Movement Basics" (2023) -- Gun up ready to go, minimize extraneous steps, full power movement